In a STUNNING revelation the Sonics yesterday actually accused the city and their legal representation of trying to broker a solution to retain SuperSonics basketball in the NW. This despicable act was referred to as an "unseemly alliance" and rumors are floating around about the existance of a letter in which Slade Gorton courts the Mayor saying:
"Mayor Nickels. I value this alliance we have created both personally and professionally. You are among a very few, not withstanding the relatively brief actual physical time together that have significantly affected my life. I view you as a role model and a compassionate co-conspirator. You are a person with a rare and unique ability to bleed the Oklahoma ownership rather than allow them to leave in good faith. No matter how sincere they have been we must remain 100% committed, like men possessed, to stop their move purely out of spite and our antagonistic nature. Mr. Mayor, the game is just getting started."
In his reply Matt Griffen stated "WhooHoo!!!! I'm in boys! I don't even care about this town, just want to see those boys bleed money!"
Griffen later clarified that his e-mail was taken out of context and he was referring to his own young boys who had been naughty and were being deprived allowance. Griffen, who has no children released the following statement:
"That particular comment had nothing to do with the chain of comments before it, the people I sent it to, or the various replies that were made. Really I don't know how you can make the absurd assumption that it was part of a conversation at all."
In all seriousness I wish that the city could just conceed the fact that OF COURSE THEY WERE TRYING TO SAVE THE TEAM! We Want NBA basketball in this town and there was a conspiracy against us. This is like a bank robber crying that their privacy rights were violated by security cameras.
Jenni Carlson of the Daily Oklahoman called yesterday to get some comments regarding the people trying to save the Sonics. She asked about how often we all talk and I replied to her that "I wished we talked more." Save Our Sonics really would prefer to have more of an overall strategic alliance here in the NW and we attempt to talk to as many people as possible. All the litigation makes it really hard and the entire point of my conversation was that various other parties are restrained due to the pending litigation and we are frustrated on some levels by their need to retain a sense of propriety. It will be interesting to see how that quote come out in the Oklahoman.
I just hope that all this makes it through to court. I want everything, every damn document on BOTH SIDES were relevant I would love it if the judge ruled that any correspondence between a prospective team buyer and a city official were relevant and we got to go back and get their records of conversation with Mick Cornett. I will say this, if the judge rules it admissable that conversations in preparation for a potential purchase are relevant then I fully expect both the city and Schultz to enter Clays "We're prepared to do anything to bring basketball to Oklahoma City" comments to be admissable. You just can't have it both ways.
If conspiring to find a way to save a 41 year tradition is unseemly then conspiring to steal a team with a lease in place via deception, etc. is flat out despicable. I'll take unseemly and legal over despicable and fraudulant any day of the week.